Himachal EC appoints Negi as brand ambassador

The state Election Commission in Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh has appointed the 97-year-old first ever voter of independent India, Shyam Saran Negi, as its brand ambassador for the poll campaign in the tribal region.

Assistant electoral officer Prashant Deshta on Thursday said that the State Election Commission has appointed the first ever voter of independent India as its brand ambassador for the poll campaign in order to sensitise voters in the area.

"It is a matter of pride for Kinnaur district and Himachal Pradesh that the first ever voter of the world's biggest democracy, belongs to this area. We have made Shyam Saran Negi the brand ambassador for the poll campaign to create voter awareness," said Deshta.

Shyam Saran, who is 97 years of age, views the new changes and developments in the country as a positive mark and feels bad about the environmental degradation, deforestation and corruption in the country.

"The manner of polling was very different and tough during the early period of voting. There used to be different ballot boxes for different candidates in which we were required to put the paper. There were many untrained women who were asked to vote on the hand, and they stamped their own hands with ink and came back," Negi told a reporter.

Shyam Saran was the first ever voter of independent India as polling in 1951 in that part of the country was scheduled keeping the extreme weather conditions in mind.